As a sleep expert, I understand how important it is for parents and caregivers to ensure their children get enough sleep for optimal health and development. That’s why I created a comprehensive guide on how much sleep kids really need. In this guide, parents will discover the optimal sleep duration for children of all ages and learn essential tips for making sure their child gets the rest they need to thrive. I also provide bonus advice on how grown-ups can improve their own sleep quality, making this guide a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their family’s sleep habits.
I get asked all the time, “Is my child getting enough sleep? How much sleep do kids need?”. There are a couple of ways to answer this question. Here’s one way of answering the question.
- Does your child wake up in the morning without complaint?
- Does she pay attention in school without difficulty?
- Does she stay awake on short car trips around town?
If the answer to all of these questions is yes in a school age or older child, the answer is likely yes. However, sleep quality matters too— your child could be getting twelve hours of sleep a night and still wake up exhausted if he has a sleep disorder like obstructive sleep apnea, or if the TV is on in her room all night long. It can be harder to judge in younger children who nap routinely. That is why it is important to know what the normal range of sleep duration is by age.
The National Sleep Foundation updated the guidelines for how much sleep people of varies ages should sleep. What’s so interesting about this is that the range is pretty wide, especially in infants and young children. My mother was terrified that there was something wrong with me when I was sleeping 20 hours a day as an infant; other babies may sleep for 12 hours a day and their parents are miserable, because I guarantee that those hours are not occurring in a row.
Here is a summary of the new recommendations, with the recent updates noted:
- Newborns (0-3 months ): Sleep range narrowed to 14-17 hours each day (previously it was 12-18)
- Infants (4-11 months): Sleep range widened two hours to 12-15 hours (previously it was 14-15)
- Toddlers (1-2 years): Sleep range widened by one hour to 11-14 hours (previously it was 12-14)
- Preschoolers (3-5): Sleep range widened by one hour to 10-13 hours (previously it was 11-13)
- School age children (6-13): Sleep range widened by one hour to 9-11 hours (previously it was 10-11)
- Teenagers (14-17): Sleep range widened by one hour to 8-10 hours (previously it was 8.5-9.5)
- Younger adults (18-25): Sleep range is 7-9 hours (new age category)
- Adults (26-64): Sleep range did not change and remains 7-9 hours
- Older adults (65+): Sleep range is 7-8 hours (new age category)
And here is a useful infographic from the NSF (link above):
Need advice getting more sleep? Here are posts on how you can:
- Get 30 more minutes of sleep per night
- Address early morning awakenings in your child
- Effectively sleep train your children
- Help teenagers get more sleep by advocating for later school start times
